Signal lights are out of sync

Signal lights are out of sync

The surprise of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting March 23 was a presentation about the new Kanan signal synchronization, which was not on the agenda.

Driving on the street, have you noticed a change in the timing of the signals? I sure have. Sometimes it takes over a minute for me to turn left across Kanan at an Oak Park traffic signal. Even if no cars are coming in the opposite direction, the light does not change. I have even been in the turn lane, with red lights in three directions I can see, with cars waiting in those directions, and no cars coming in the opposite direction.

I guess the point is to speed traffic along Kanan towards the freeway in the morning and away from it in the evening, with an 80- to 90-second signal cycle. That cycle means that if we get to a light just as it turns red, we could end up waiting 80 or 90 seconds. That, to me, adds time to my Kanan drive, not subtracts it.

But, I don’t get what the point of synchronization is in the morning, anyway, because of traffic backups that occur in Agoura Hills, both at the elementary school at Laro and as you approach the freeway. And, what about kids crossing the street for school, as they do at Conifer and Smoketree? How long do they have to wait now before crossing?

A county representative also said synchronization helps speed traffic from Thousand Oaks along Kanan to the freeway. This is a good thing? Why not instead encourage drivers to get on the freeway from Westlake Boulevard or Lindero Canyon Road, where there are no residences and fewer cross streets?

How much has this project cost so far? The synchronization report said that signals are monitored daily from the county transportation department. What is this project going to cost?

Janna Orkney

Oak Park